5 best practices for remote training in 2025

With the world stabilizing post-pandemic, recruits and experienced veterans alike are dusting off their business-appropriate pants and making the trek back into the office. This will inevitably lead to training and development meetings in stuffy boardrooms, but the world has advanced past this, and so should your training plans.

The fact of the matter is, if you offer remote training and working opportunities, your team will take them and be thrilled. However, not every business is set up to provide these opportunities.

Training is a great place to start when looking to incorporate a hybrid model into your business. Everyone needs to train, meaning that an investment in these solutions will affect every single member of your team.

If you want to make onboarding and upgrading cheaper, more personalized, and more effective, look no further than remote training.

Understanding remote training

Remote training takes all the orientation, learning, and skill building that would normally take place on-site, and delivers it online. With its focus on flexibility, cost-efficiency, and accessibility, it’s become a go-to for many businesses, even if they don’t operate fully remotely regularly.

Your remote training strategy will be as unique as your business, but common forms include:

• Webinars
• Video Courses
• Interactive Modules
• Live Chat/Q&A
• Blended Learning

Depending on your team’s needs and resources, you might use a combination of these tactics to make the most impactful remote training plan.

Upsides to remote training

If your team has been training and onboarding the same way for years, it can be difficult to justify shifting towards more tech-heavy solutions like remote training. However, the risk is more than worth the rewards.

Remote training’s benefits include:

• Flexibility – Your employees will have a wide array of schedules and learning styles. Offering remote training allows them to take charge of their learning and spend more time on things they need help with

• Cost Efficiency – You can save on costs associated with materials, trainer fees, and travel expenses.

• Repurposing – Any time you need to bring new team members up to speed, you can re-use your existing training material and give everyone equal access

• Standardization – When everyone on your team has gone through the same remote training program, you can trust that they are all on the same page about systems and expectations

• Green – Going digital cuts down the use of paper, resources, and travel. Taking out just a few travel days a week can lead to a huge decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from your team

When a simple shift to digital can offer this many advantages, it becomes a clear choice for businesses both big and small.

How does remote training work

There are two main types of remote training. Many companies will utilize a combination of the two to make sure their team is all on the same level.

• Synchronous – Video conferencing, webinars, discussions, virtual labs. This allows for hands-on activities and instant feedback and questions

• Asynchronous – Pre-recorded webinars, reading materials, online courses. Your whole team can engage with this training at their own pace, and in their own time

Both paths will require a set lesson plan, remote training software, and a way to track your team’s progress through the program.

Common challenges of remote training

While remote training has the potential to save your organization time and money, it’s not without its challenges. It’s important to plan strategically for these inevitable obstacles:

• Technology – If you’re going digital, your team has to have the proper tools and technology to stay connected. If anyone doesn’t have access to a laptop, high-speed internet, or digital literacy, your program could be all for naught

• Engagement – As wonderful as it is to work from home, there’s a lot more space for distractions. Keeping everyone focused and engaged can be tricky.

• Collaboration – Going remote can limit the amount of collaboration that happens between members, if you don’t use the right technology. This can lead to isolation and a feeling of disconnection from the team at large

If you’re aware of these potential challenges and have plans in place to combat them, you’ll be ready to take on the world of remote training.

5 remote training best practices

Having a few tips and tricks in your back pocket can help you develop the most stress-free, engaging, and effective remote training plan possible. If you keep these best practices in mind, your team will be brazing through their learning in no time.

Simplify access

The first interaction your team has with their remote training is going to set the stage for the entire process. You’ll want to ensure it features clear instructions and an easy-to-use interface.

Studies have shown that having a user-friendly interface can significantly increase online learning outcomes for 88% of students. The last thing you want is for your team to walk away from training more confused because of obtuse training software.

Bridge the gap

Make sure to give people an opportunity to interact with each other in some way, even if it’s not face-to-face. This can be in the form of facilitated virtual discussions, digital office hours, or scheduled one-on-one meetings.

Studies show that giving opportunities to socialize, even in a remote work environment, can lead to a boost in positivity, productivity, and culture. What’s important is providing a safe and approachable avenue for dialogue and exchange of ideas.

Be available

There’s nothing worse than being on a roll during training, and then running into a technical issue or particularly pressing question that stops you in your tracks.

While asynchronous training can make it challenging to be available 100% of the time, your team should always have someone to contact if they’re having trouble. This leads to higher engagement and team bonding.

Make expectations clear

This is particularly important in asynchronous learning because a self-paced training program can tempt people to take a more relaxed approach. Highlighting expectations for completing training modules and review times should be communicated at the beginning of the program.

Use gamification

If keeping employees engaged and motivated is a particular fear of yours, you may want to consider bringing in a layer of gamification. This strategy uses common game design elements to keep people excited about doing tasks like work training.

Consider a leaderboard, badges, or offering rewards for team members who learn quickly and stay engaged. This not only encourages them to stick with their training but can also bring a sense of community and fun to the workplace.

Assessing and monitoring progress

The two biggest risks of remote training are that team members will

• Take advantage of self-guided resources and run up their training time
• Rush through modules and not retain any information

Both of these issues can cause major problems when it comes to the long-term success of your program. However, if you focus on monitoring and assessing the progress of your team from the start, you can identify and address any issues promptly.

This monitoring can include feedback forms, check-in calls, and more. If you’re using remote training software, it will likely include solutions.

Adapting and iterating the training approach

No initiative is going to be perfect right out of the gate. As you dive into remote training, you need to give your team space to learn and grow.

Make sure that you track what works best for your particular team and business. This could include:

• Surveys from employees about what’s working
• Data about where people get stuck
• Long-term retention data
• A-B testing of different strategies

This data can then be used to make the best approach possible.

Meet Kaltura – Your #1 remote training platform

If you’re searching for a remote training platform that can both engage your team and provide tons of data on their progress, look no further than Kaltura.

With attention checkers, chat rooms, and endless ways to present the information your team needs, Kaltura Training Platform can skyrocket your remote training’s effect.